Gig economy workers promised holiday and sick pay

The government has promised improvement of employment rights to millions of workers, including those in the gig economy. The Department for Business has responded to Matthew Taylor review, published last summer, which called for all work to be properly rewarded.

This means that even the workers in the gig economy are to be given sick and holiday pay from day one, under Government plans to modernise workers’ rights. The changes also include higher fines for firms that breach contracts or mistreat staff.

Business Secretary Greg Clark said the measures would “address very clearly” the rights of those in insecure work.

Clark said that very often a worker did not have the ability to challenge or force a company to follow the law: “We will be enforcing the rights that people have and are entitled to.

“We want to embrace new ways of working, and to do so we will be one of the first countries to prepare our employment rules to reflect the new challenges,” he added.

Although the government says that nearly all the recommendations of the Taylor review will be adopted, unions have stated that the plan will still leave 1.8m workers without key rights.